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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26005312">We opened our eyes and it's changing the view (Oh, what are we gonna do?)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veriatas/pseuds/Veriatas'>Veriatas</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What the Water Gave Me (Selkie'verse) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Fluff, Gen, Selkie!Bruce Wayne, Selkies, Tim Drake Gets a Hug, Tim Drake Needs a Hug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:08:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,272</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26005312</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veriatas/pseuds/Veriatas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim had seen several strange things while in the Wayne household, but he hadn't been prepared for this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake &amp; Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson, Tim Drake &amp; Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What the Water Gave Me (Selkie'verse) [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>561</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>We opened our eyes and it's changing the view (Oh, what are we gonna do?)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Many thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bumpkin">Bumpkin</a> for their help, and to my betas <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOneRandomPerson/pseuds/ThatOneRandomPerson">ThatOneRandomPerson</a> and <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZulieTheProgrammer">ZulieTheProgrammer</a>!</p>
<p>Title is from Florence + the Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tim had learned to expect strange occurrences in the Wayne household, but he certainly hadn’t been expecting to walk in the door to <i>this</i>.</p>
<p>“Jason! Give me my skin back! I want to go for a swim!” Jason cackled with laughter and danced out of reach when Dick lunged towards him, attempting to pull the leather jacket from his grasp. </p>
<p>Why did Dick need his jacket to go swimming? </p>
<p>The boys didn’t notice his arrival, and continued to fight over the jacket. “What’s the matter, Dickie? Can’t swim in this form?” Jay called as he vaulted over the couch to avoid another lunge from Dick. He sprinted towards the other side of the room, further away from Tim.</p>
<p>“Of course I can swim like this! I just don’t want to! Give me my skin back!”  Dick cried in outrage as he leaped over obstacles and gave chase.</p>
<p>Wait. </p>
<p>His <i>skin?</i></p>
<p>That was the second time Dick had called the jacket his <i>skin</i>, and connected it to swimming. And both of them had alluded to having another form.</p>
<p>Tim’s brain felt like it blue-screened. So many things suddenly made sense.</p>
<p>“Wait, you guys are <i>selkies?</i>”</p>
<p>The explanation fit so neatly, he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t seen it before. It would explain so many small things that Tim had noticed over the past few months, like why Bruce would be such a fierce supporter and lobbyist for ocean conservation. Why Bruce constantly called his kids - and him - pups. It would explain why sometimes when he looked at the Waynes he would get the strongest — and strangest — impressions of the ocean, and why all of the Waynes had picked a seal from his photos to champion so fiercely. They weren’t championing a random wild animal; they were championing <i>themselves.</i></p>
<p>“No! I just... wear this jacket a lot,” Dick says weakly. Tim gives him the most disbelieving look he can muster up. Dick wilts beneath it. “Yeah, okay. We’re selkies.”</p>
<p>“Nice going, Dickhead,” Jason mutters, but he seems more amused than upset.</p>
<p>“Jason.” Bruce turns his name into a clear admonishment. His tone softens as he turns to speak to Tim. “Yes, we’re selkies. I had been planning to tell you soon, but I should have known you’d be clever enough to figure it out.”</p>
<p>Tim flushes beneath the praise, unsure how to respond. In hindsight, the Waynes weren’t particularly subtle, but he doesn’t want to just <i>say</i> that. Then another excruciatingly embarrassing thought occurs to him. </p>
<p>“Oh god, I was showing you photos of yourselves! I gave you all <i>nicknames!</i>” Dick and Jay burst out laughing, while Bruce cracks a grin. Tim wants to run away, or maybe sink into a hole in the ground, but settles for burying his hands into his sleeves and whimpering instead.</p>
<p>Have they been laughing at him, all this time? Was the laughter that Tim thought had been shared really mocking him, a joke that Tim hadn’t been in on? It would make sense. The Waynes had always exchanged looks whenever he spoke about the seals, amused for reasons Tim hadn’t been able to fathom. Well, he got the joke now, and stifled a sob into his sleeves. He must have seemed so <i>stupid.</i></p>
<p>“Hey, pup, no. What are you crying for, hmm?” Bruce’s voice was low and soothing as he gently tugged Tim into his arms. The laughter of the other boys had died off, and they now crowded close, trying to see why Tim was upset.</p>
<p>Tim stifled another sob. “You must think I’m so <i>dumb,</i>” he muttered. “I’ve been showing you photos of yourselves for months, and I gave you all such dumb nicknames, told you all those little stories I made up and you’ve been laughing for all that time!”</p>
<p>Bruce’s arms tightened around him, one coming up to tuck Tim’s head into Bruce’s neck and just staying there, resting against the back of his head. “Hey, no, no, kiddo. We weren’t laughing at you, I promise.” He gently tilted Tim’s head back, and wiped at the tears beneath his eyes. “If you really want to know,” he said, tone low like he was confessing a secret, “I’ve been so thrilled to see all of your photos. I’ve never had photos of my kids in their other skin before.”</p>
<p>Tim sniffled, still feeling small and overwhelmed, but a little less stupid. “Really?”</p>
<p>Bruce gave him a gentle smile, and Tim was once again swept up into an impression of sun-drenched shores and ocean waves, a warm feeling that he’s come to associate with steadiness and safety. When Bruce was holding him like this, so close he could smell the familiar and subtle scent of sea salt lingering on his skin, it was hard to believe that he was lying. </p>
<p>“Well, it’s kinda hard to hold a camera with flippers, Tim,” Jason snarked. Tim choked on a sob, laughter bubbling up despite himself. Above his head, Bruce gave an exasperated glare to Jason before redirecting his full attention back to the pup in his arms.</p>
<p>“Really, Tim. Now that you know, I wanted to ask you for some copies of your photos — I’d love to put them up in the house.”</p>
<p>Tim’s eyes go huge, sadness receding to leave wary excitement in its wake. “You… want to put my photos up? You really like them that much?”</p>
<p>“Of course I do, pup. They’re excellent photos, and you should be really proud of them.”</p>
<p>Tim ducked his head back into Bruce’s neck, overwhelmed again. Despite buying him the camera when he’d asked for it, his parents had never wanted to see his photos, always brushing him off and saying they would look later. But now Bruce wanted to put them on <i>display,</i> and had said Tim should be <i>proud</i> of them, and that was. That was a <i>lot.</i></p>
<p>Perhaps sensing emotions were getting too high, Dick interrupted the conversation. “Timmy! Now that you know, you should come swim with us!”</p>
<p>“Yeah! Come swimming, Tim! It’ll be so fun,” Jason said, in full agreement with his brother for once. </p>
<p>Tim knuckled at his eyes and looked at his friends. They both looked so happy and enthusiastic; he really didn’t want to say no. He looked up at Bruce, question clear in his eyes.</p>
<p>Bruce gave him another gentle smile. “I’ll stay with you, and make sure you don’t get swept away. Now, go get changed, and we’ll meet you at the beach.”</p>
<p>Tim raced into the room he’d been using inside the Waynes’ house. He couldn’t <i>wait.</i>

</p><hr/>
<p>Happily exhausted, Tim sat on the rocks while Dick and Jay raced through the water around him. Bruce, in his seal form, was resting next to him — and wasn’t that a shock. Normally, Bruce was a pretty big man, but as a seal, he made Tim feel absolutely <i>tiny.</i></p>
<p>It was interesting to really get to look at them closely while they were in this form. From this distance, it became obvious that Bruce and Jason took after Gray seals, while Dick was a Harbor seal. That explained why Dick was smaller than Jason in their second form despite being older, Tim supposed.</p>
<p>He lost track of his thoughts as he leaned further into Bruce’s side. He just felt so <i>soft</i> and <i>warm</i> here, despite the chill of the water. The day had felt like an emotional rollercoaster, but here, sitting against Bruce’s side and watching Dick and Jason race through the waves, Tim could feel nothing but safe and content. Closing his eyes and basking in the warmth, Tim wished he could live in this moment and feeling forever.</p>
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